New York's One World Trade Center Opens for Business Today

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It's "Opening Day" in Lower Manhattan.

Thirteen years after its predecessors were destroyed in the 9/11 attack, One World Trade Center is now officially open for business.

As the building opens its doors today, its first tenant Conde Nast is now moving in. The publisher moves its 3,400 staffers into the 24 stories it is occupying, from floor 20 through 44.

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There are several buildings near the site that include Larry Silverstein's 4 World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center buildings, and a new state-of-the-art World Trade Center Transportation Hub. When completed in 2015, the hub will serve over 200,000 daily commuters and millions of annual visitors from around the world. At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Hub, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava, will be the third largest transportation center in New York City, rivaling Grand Central Station in size.

But the centerpiece is the One World Trade Center, a skyscraper that is 104 stories and 1,776 feet tall, a height that represents the year of United States independence.

This includes the 408 foot spire atop the 1,368 foot tower.

It's taller than the original Twin Towers, which were 1,727 feet with the antenna (and 1,362 feet without it).

The building has 3.5 million square feet of space, including offices, parking and an observatory, scheduled to open next spring.

Other tenants include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the China Center, a liaison for U.S. and Chinese businesses. But a number of the floors remain unoccupied.

 The owners of the 1 WTC have also reduced the rent from $75 to $69 per square foot asking rates (net of electric).

"Tenant interest in One World Trade Center is high, and it's growing steadily," said Cushman & Wakefield executive vice chairman Tara Stacom, who leads the firm's leasing team on behalf of the building. "The property opens at approximately 60 percent occupancy, far exceeding the average for a speculative building in Manhattan going back over a 12-year period.  Further, both current and prospective tenants represent a wide spectrum of business sectors, including media, IT, financial services, advertising and other industries.

Located near Wall Street in lower Manhattan, the building was developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre site.

One World Trade Center cost $3.9 billion to build.